In this blog I will be giving my political opinions on both issues at home and abroad.
I will also focus on the issues that affect the people of Ipswich and in particular those who live in Rushmere Ward.
I will also try and give an insight to how I will be campaigning in Rushmere and Ipswich as we fight against the savage cuts imposed by this Tory Government

Tuesday, 26 April 2016

Ben Gummer our MP voted last night to stop the United Kingdom bringing in 3,000 child refugees. It was a shameful act in anyone's eyes.

When he is next at Liverpool Street Station, (delayed again by the railway he single handily improved) on the way to his home in (rural?) Suffolk he should take time to study the two statues to the Kindertransport children that are on the station concourse. Taking in the 'Kindertransport' children is one of the finest example of what this country should stand for, the standards we set for ourselves and others. The way he voted last night just indicated we are now being run by a group of selfish people.

Would love to know how he came to the decision to vote to keep these children out - then again would also like to know how he is willing to back up his boss Hunt and not enter into negotiations with Junior Doctors?

As a child I was fortunate enough to be able to meet and speak with Tom Gondris, a Labour councilor who escaped from Germany as a child refugee- maybe Mr Gummer should visit Tom and speak with him - and he may then have not voted the way he did (unless his career comes above everything?)

Sunday, 24 April 2016

A couple of weeks ago I found myself writing a blog after reading an Ipswich Tory leaflet. The blog post can be found here.

The leaflet was certainly not factual but it was their comments on house building that really angered me, the Tories wrote;

“House building in Ipswich has stalled and more needs to be done. Ipswich needs family homes yet this council is failing to provide them. We would make building quality family homes – and the infrastructure accompanying them – one of our top priorities.”My post highlighted the fact that it was Ben Gummer, Nadia Cenci and both the local Tory Councilors (and Lib Dems) and the Tory County Council who were putting obstacles in the way of us getting more homes built in Ipswich.Then this week I was given even more proof that it is the Ipswich Tories who do not want to see homes built. I received a copy of the Tory leaflet for Priory Heath Ward and it included the same paragraph blaming Ipswich Labour for stalling house building but then in a classic piece of Tory hypocrisy the Tory candidate takes credit (!!!) for stopping Labour run Ipswich Council of building homes on Ravenswood (on land that is already designated for home building)

So we now even have a Tory candidate admitting it is not Ipswich Labour that has caused home building in Ipswich to become stalled but it was the Tories - including himself!

Sunday, 10 April 2016

Ipswich Tory leaflets have always read more like a fantasy
story than a document of facts and public information but this year they have
really gone out of their way to persuade the Ipswich public that they (the Ipswich
Tories ) do live in a world of self denial!

One of my proudest achievements is to have been part of a
Labour Council that is just completing one of the largest council house
building projects in a generation in Bader Close and my proudest personal achievement
as a councillor has been that I helped enable two roads of new Council houses
and flats in Whitehouse Estate be named after two Ipswich (and Whitehouse) soldiers
who lost their lives serving their country.

But if you read the latest Ipswich Tory leaflets you would
have thought we have not built a single home – the Ipswich Tories (make it up
as we go along) PR machine informs us;

“House building in Ipswich has stalled and more needs to be
done. Ipswich needs family homes yet this council is failing to provide them.
We would make building quality family homes – and the infrastructure
accompanying them – one of our top priorities.”

Fact is we would like to build more Council homes and see
developers start some large building projects – but we keep coming up against
barriers – and these obstacles have been placed in front of us by local Tories
from MPs ben Gummer and Dan Poulter to local Tory leader Nadia Cenci and a
combination of Tory Borough and County Councillors.

You could suggest ‘I would say that’ but unlike the Tory
leaflet I can back my views with facts.

Labour run Ipswich proposed and gained permission for a
large development of council houses at Ravenswood in South East Ipswich. Tory
Cllr Cenci called our decision in, they were not happy with the amount of
social housing – after her ‘call in’ was thrown out they then got Ben Gummer
the Tory MP to get Eric Pickles to call the Borough decision in – this was disappointing
but only to be expected as Mr Gummer looked for easy votes but what has been
disgraceful is that over a year later we are still waiting for this Tory Government
to tell us if we can or can’t start to build these much needed family homes. So
Cllr Cenci – your right house building has stalled but not because of a Labour
Council but because of the actions of you, Ben Gummer and Eric Pickles.

Then we have the Northern Fringe development, the original
plan was actually put through by the last Tory/Lib Dem administration – but they
needed help from us as 6 Tory Councillors voted against the plan as they wanted
NO HOMES built north of Valley Road.

But once we took back power in Ipswich the Tories (and Lib
Dems) have become slightly less keen on the building of a large estate in the
north of the town. Mr Gummer at first complained about the proposed location of
the cricket green! Since then he has written to many residents ( in the build
up to the election) stating why he could not support the proposed development.
Cllr Cenci went further and distributed an expensive leaflet (with her name on)
stating that the new build would see current residents have their commute to
work or leisure time increased, they asked for residents views that they would
then pass to to Borough Council. I filled in their consultation – but have
heard nothing back! Did they ever hand the consultation findings (13 months
ago) to the Borough? I ask as some may have seen the whole campaign as a way of
farming email addresses! I look forward to reading the results of their
consultation – after 56 weeks you would have thought it was ready for
publication.

Now I agree with the Tories, we need infrastructure to
support the Northern Fringe development but to bill for that must fall to the
developer, the TORY County Council and the TORY Government – you may have
spotted a theme here.

So have the Tories helped get that much needed
infrastructure – no! Dan Poulter MP, declared rather than a northern link road
we should just have a tunnel under the Orwell (along with the pie in the sky)
Mr Gummer has managed to gain funding for a road- but not the much needed
northern link road but for a (possible) Wet Dock Crossing. Which of those two
schemes (Northern link Road or Wet Dock crossing) would lead to the building of
much needed homes?

Then we have the housing development in East Ipswich – St Clement’s
– the local Tories wanted the application turned down and a park built instead!

Ready for a shock statement? IPSWICH TORIES ARE RIGHT! House
building has stalled in Ipswich – but the people who have helped stall it are
Tories – Ben Gummer, Nadia Cenci, Dan Poulter, John Carnall, Eric Pickles,
Robin Vickery, David Goldsmith, all take a bow you have helped deprive Ipswich residents of homes.

The leaflet also has a few other classics from Tory fantasy
land – it tells us congestion in the town has become unbearable – forgetting to
add that TORY run Suffolk has just wasted £20 million on ‘Travel Ipswich’ and
to finish the leaflet off and to pretend they are community minded – they have
a picture of the Whitehouse Skate Park – not surprising they forget to mention
it was built with help from funding by the local Area Committee – the same
committee they wanted to scrap!

If you want homes built for your families in Ipswich – Vote Labour
not for the ‘Stalling Tories’

About Me

I am 55 and married with two children, I stood for the Labour Party in the Rushmere Ward in Ipswich at 2006 and 2007 local elections and then won it for Labour on May 1st 2008 with a majority of 13 before retaining the seat in 2012 with a majority of over 500. I retaining the seat again in 2016.
I live in the ward and I was born in Ipswich and both my parents (Annie and Peter Ross) were Labour councillors in Ipswich.
I went to Tower Ramparts School in the town (Yes, it was a school before it became a shopping centre!)
In 1978, I left Ipswich to join the army. I spent 24 years in the Royal Green Jackets, serving in Northern Ireland, Bosnia and Kosova.
Since leaving the army in 2002, I have worked in a local school.
I spent 2009 back with the army, 7 months in Sangin, Afghanistan as Operations Warrant Officer with 2 Rifles.
I am the campaign organisor in Rushmere
Sport is my other great interest and I was one of the founding members of the Ipswich Town Independent Supporters Trust.